Mechanisms for Enforcing International Commercial Arbitration Awards: Challenges and Solutions.

Introduction:

International commercial arbitration has become one of the most important alternative methods for resolving international commercial disputes in the modern era, due to its flexibility and speed compared to traditional courts. Arbitration allows the parties the freedom to choose arbitrators, the applicable law, and the procedures to follow, making it an effective tool in the world of international trade. However, the enforcement of arbitral awards faces numerous legal and practical challenges, requiring solutions to ensure the effectiveness of this mechanism and continued reliance on it for resolving international disputes.

Mechanisms for Enforcing International Arbitral Awards:

1-The 1958 New York Convention: The New York Convention is the primary legal foundation for enforcing international arbitral awards. It obligates signatory countries to enforce arbitration awards issued in other countries, provided that those countries are parties to the convention. The convention allows member states to submit a request for enforcement directly to national courts without the need to reconsider the merits of the dispute.

2-The National Judicial System: Enforcing arbitral awards is within the jurisdiction of national courts, where parties submit enforcement requests to the competent courts. These courts review the request based on local laws and in accordance with international treaties such as the New York Convention. However, local courts still have limited discretionary authority to refuse enforcement in certain cases, such as violations of public policy.

3-International Judicial Cooperation: Legal and diplomatic relations between countries play a significant role in facilitating the enforcement of arbitral awards across borders. Countries with developed legal systems tend to provide judicial assistance to ensure that arbitration awards are enforced according to international standards, thereby enhancing trust in the international commercial arbitration system.

Challenges to Enforcing International Arbitral Awards:

1-Incompatibility of Local Laws: Despite many countries signing the New York Convention, some local legal systems may have obstacles that make it difficult to enforce arbitral awards. Some countries may adopt restrictive laws that grant national courts broad discretion to refuse enforcement.

2-Violation of Public Policy: The public policy argument is one of the means used by some countries to refuse the enforcement of arbitral awards. Some countries may view the award as conflicting with their legal, moral, or cultural values, allowing them to reject enforcement. This argument remains vague in many legal systems, making it subject to broad interpretation.

3-Corruption and Nepotism: In some unstable legal systems, the process of enforcing arbitral awards may be vulnerable to corruption and favoritism, hindering justice and leading to the unfair obstruction of the enforcement process.

Proposed Solutions:

1-Strengthening National Legislation: Addressing a large part of the issues related to enforcing arbitral awards requires improving national legislation in line with international standards. National laws must be clear and supportive of arbitral awards, leaving little room for interference from national courts.

2-Reducing Public Policy Barriers: Countries should adopt a narrow and clear definition of public policy, so that it cannot be used as a pretext for refusing to enforce arbitral awards except in cases where the award genuinely contradicts the fundamental values of society.

3-Promoting Transparency and Combating Corruption: Ensuring a transparent and corruption-free judicial environment is essential for the fair and swift enforcement of arbitral awards. There must be effective oversight mechanisms in place to ensure the integrity of the enforcement process.

Conclusion:

International commercial arbitration is an important tool for resolving commercial disputes in today’s world. However, the effectiveness of this tool largely depends on the ability of countries to enforce arbitral awards swiftly and fairly. Enforcement mechanisms face various challenges, but with improved local legislation, enhanced international cooperation, and the adoption of transparency, these challenges can be overcome. In this way, international commercial arbitration can continue to be a reliable and effective method for resolving global commercial disputes.